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Man claims he owns $16K held by Pflugerville police but now missing

Elliot Martin told the Pflugerville city court he owns $16,800 seized by the Pflugerville Police Department in a 2010 gaming house raid. The money has since disappeared, and the Texas Rangers are assisting the police in an investigation. RALPH BARRERA/AMERICAN-STATESMAN

What began more than six years ago as a gaming house raid in Travis County has led to an internal investigation of missing money from the Pflugerville police evidence room and a hearing to determine to whom it belongs.

In September 2010, Pflugerville police executed a search warrant at a gaming house at 15603 Connie St. near Interstate 35. The house is within Travis County and outside of Pflugerville’s city limits.

According to a motion filed in municipal court by the city attorney’s office last year, Pflugerville police and the Texas comptroller’s office were investigating what they believed could be an illegal gambling operation at the house. During the raid, police seized an undisclosed amount of money.

Though the motion says the comptroller’s office led the investigation, an incident report from the comptroller’s criminal investigation division states the opposite, saying Pflugerville police requested its assistance in the gaming house inspection.

City spokeswoman Terri Toledo said an ongoing internal investigation into the missing money — which is being assisted by the Texas Rangers — is addressing which agency actually led the investigation.

According to the comptroller’s office report, inspectors found several “eight-liner” machines (similar to slot machines) and money at the house. The machines were in compliance with state law, the report says, but the residence was not licensed to host a business.

Travis Central Appraisal District records list Citizens Inc. as granting a special warranty deed for the property to Connie Street LLC in October 2009. A warranty deed was then given to another individual in April 2016.

The case involving the house has been closed and any related charges have been dropped, Toledo said.

Six years after the raid, city officials discovered the missing money from the evidence room after someone claimed to own it.

Despite the money being lost, the city published a notice in the Pflugerville Pflag and Round Rock Leader newspapers in late September calling for the owner to claim the money.

The city typically begins the process of claiming ownership of evidence within months of a case closing. But Toledo said that did not occur for this evidence, and the investigation aims to find out why.

A court hearing March 15 at the Pflugerville Justice Center sought to determine who would receive the money.

Elliot Martin has told the city he owns the money, which he claims amounts to $16,800. But a city attorney presented evidence that another person, Jimmy Hogue, owns the money. The city has not confirmed whether the missing money is $16,800.

According to a city news release, Judge J.B. Marshall is allowing Martin more time to show he is entitled to the money after agreement from both parties.

Though no action occurred within sight of the courtroom audience, Martin and his attorney met with a city attorney in Marshall’s chambers to agree on how to conduct the hearing, the news release says. That led to both parties agreeing to postpone the hearing to a date to be determined.

If Martin shows enough evidence to corroborate his claim, the city will have to pay him the full amount of money minus any expenses related to the city keeping the money and any court-related costs, Toledo said. Any money paid to him would come from the city’s general fund, she said.

In a statement released March 14, City Manager Brandon Wade apologized for what he called a “reprehensible situation.” The incident has spurred a comprehensive review of all procedures for holding police evidence and the creation of an evidence room supervisor position, he said.

“Both the Pflugerville Police Department and the city of Pflugerville have taken action to ensure that it never happens again,” Wade said.